Silicon alloy.



U ITED'sTAT s IATFENT oFFioE.

7 JOHN T. H. DEMPSTER, OF SOHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC i COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK. l

SILICON ALLOY.

Specification of Letters,Patent.

Patented Julie 1, 1909.

To all whom itma' concern: Be it known that LJOHN T. H. DEMPSTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Silicon Alloys, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention comprises what I may term an alloy of silicon and tellurium. Thisalloy 10 may be used for a variety of purposes but is especially adapted for use, as a resistance material in connection with lightning arrester resistances, heating units, and so forth. Such analloy of silicon and tellurium possessesa higher specific resistance than commercial'silicon now in use as resistance matcrial.

' The tellurium can be alloyed with the silicon in a variety of proportions, according to the properties desired in the alloy. Alloys useful as resistance material, in general, may contain from one to fifteen per cent. of tellurium. I prefer to add about five per cent. of tellurium in making the high-resistance alloy, as this amount of tellurium increases the resistance of the silicon from three to five times, without making it brittle or introducing any other undesirable physical changes in the cast material.

I prefer to place with the tellurium in the bottom of the cruciblea layer of apowdered carbonate which is decomposable at the melting temperature of silicon, about 1430 C. as,for example, calcium carbonate, CaCO When the mass is heated the calcium carbonate is decomposed with the formation of calcium oxid and carbon dioxid.- The carbon dioxid, When'rising from the melting silicon, appears to act as a decarburizer, re-

40 actingiwlth the carbon usually associated with the silicon to form carbon monoxid. The calcium oxid, because of its low specific gravity," rises to the surface, where it comes into contact with the silica, which has been formed on the surface of the melted silicon by oxidation, and combines with it either entirely or in part, with the formation of a slag of calcium silicate which floats upon the melted alloy and protects both the silicon and tellurium from oxidation. This method of alloying produces a superior product, free from carbon and oxids.

If desired, the silicon and tellurium can be alloyed by melting them together in an ordinary crucible; the tellurium being placed in the bottom of the crucible and covered with broken ieces of silicon. A simple melting is sufliclent to dissolve and distribute the tellurium in the melted silicon, which is then a cast into the desired form.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,

1. An alloy containing silicon and tellurium. v

2. An alloy consisting of silicon alloyed with one to fifteen per cent. of tellurium.

3. The process of producing an alloy of silicon and tellurium which consists in melting silicon and tellurium in the presence of a decomposable carbonate.

4. The process of alloying silicon and tellurium which consists in melting these materials in the presence of a material which will combine with the associated silica to form a protective layer of slag upon the fluid mass.

5. The rocess which consists in melting silicon an tellurium in the presence of a decarburizing agent.

' In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 23rd day of October, 1908.

JOHN T. H. DEMPSTER. 

